MODEL SHOWS BEARLESS SOLDIER FIELD

Terry Wilson, Tribune Staff WriterCHICAGO TRIBUNE

A model and drawings of a park advisory group's vision for Soldier Field placed on display Tuesday lacked one rounded end of the oval stadium, as well as seating for about two-thirds of the fans of the Chicago Bears. Their vision of Soldier Field also lacks the Bears.

Instead, the model, shows a new Bears stadium with a retractable roof, just south of the Stevenson Expressway on the west side of Lake Shore Drive--a locale that would offer easier access to motorists, proponents of the new design said.

The model and drawings are on display at the Chicago Architecture Foundation, 224 S. Michigan Ave.

"We're promoting a restoration of Soldier Field to its original use--for pageants, parades, boxing and even tennis," said Erma Tranter, executive director of Friends of the Parks. "We're trying to point out that the Bears are important to the city and really should have a state-of-the-art facility built from the ground up for football needs."

The Soldier Field the group advocates would seat 15,000.

Tranter said her group's costly ideas have been discussed for more than a decade. They would add about 50 acres to the park once the Soldier Field parking lot was taken away and the Chicago Park District's administration building was torn down to enhance the view of the Field Museum from Soldier Field. Parking would be available underground in an area where the Park District's administration building now stands at 425 E. McFetridge Drive, she said.

When discussions began about the city possibly revamping Soldier Field for the Bears, Friends of the Parks hired architect and planner Robert Gordon to illustrate its vision, she said. The group has taken it to other organizations so that more people could see it, Tranter said.

The group members have taken the drawings to the Chicago Park District, to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, to the mayor's staff, to aldermen and to community groups in hopes of gaining support, Tranter said.

A spokesman said the mayor's office had not seen the plans and could not comment on them. The Chicago Bears have expressed interest in playing in a renovated Soldier Field.

Tranter said the idea of restoring Soldier Field as a smaller venue for festivals, concerts and other events would ensure it is used by more people. Revenue generated by those events would pay for the demolition work it will take to make Soldier Field look like it did when it was completed in 1926, she said.

"We're simply saying, let's really think of solving the Bears' needs and the parks' needs for the next 100 years," Tranter said. "If we make a mistake, it's there for 100 years."